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Going a little “sciency” on you

For those of you that have a limited tolerance and attention span for the “science” behind your health and wellness program – or more specifically, what you put in your body – I have two thoughts.

One, it is important to educate yourself on the basics of any health related program. Your life could depend on it. But most certainly your success does. There is so much misinformation about what to eat, and in particular, what to eat to lose weight, that we struggle even when we have the desire and the determination to follow the plan. Most of us don’t have the time, the patience, or the science background to question, challenge and be sure we select the right approach. And even if we did, there is so much conflicting information and research, it is confusing.

Which brings me to point #2. Not only is it worth the time and effort to read, study and ask questions about your weight loss plan, you need to find the plan and experts you trust. And YOU are the best person to discern the best plan for you. In my view, you are the one to take charge of your health. And you can start by getting smart and understanding the facts. You don’t need to be a “Dr” of anything to discern what is best for you, but it does take investigation, asking good questions and finding experts and expert resources you can trust.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have been on an optimal fat loss program via Leif Anderson, my nutrition coach and Chief. I lost fat and built muscle consistently over the 18 months of my body transformation on this science based, customized approach. And, I was fortunate to get educated along the way about the benefits of this hormone activated fat loss program that counts macronutrients via simply calories in and calories out. This program worked with my body’s chemistry to help me lose fat and build lean tone muscle and was exactly the right approach for me. (And, no, I didn’t know what half of these terms or approaches meant when I started nor why they mattered.)

I learned to eat the right foods at the right time and to care less about calories per se and more about what I was eating and when, as well as how to incorporate exercise in the right way at the right times to stimulate fat loss. The way I describe it, we kept my metabolism working at optimal speed and therefore I didn’t plateau or stall out.

Of course, you know the results: +200 pounds lost and I went from more than 60+% body fat to 14.5% in 18 months. As I continue to build muscle and tone and shape, while also trying to find a comfortable weight maintenance zone, I am still learning. In fact, I don’t plan to ever stop learning and questioning.

Let’s talk sugar

One of the most important pieces of information I garnered in the past 18+ months was the real affect of sugar on my body. So when I saw this blog by the Metabolic Effect titled: “Glucose, alcohol or fructose – which is most poisonous” I had to share it. The blog contains a long, fairly “wonky”  but educational video that explores the damage caused by sugary foods by Dr. Robert H. Lustig, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology. Lustig flat out calls fructose a poison, arguing that too much fructose and not enough fiber appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin. “The fats going down, the sugar’s going up and we’re all getting sick,” he says.

(If you can, watch the video here.)

I believe it is worth my time and my responsibility to understand the basic science behind my weight/fat loss plan, and to understand the effects of various foods on my body. My goal is to become a smarter consumer when it comes to my nutrition and fitness, and I have found this blog by the Metabolic Effect to be a key supporting resource.

There is much more to say on these topics. But for now, I wanted to share this blog and video. Perhaps you start here, just by getting educated about fructose. For me it was an eye opener.

Let me know what you think. 🙂

Lori

 

 

One Comment Post a comment
  1. Leif Anderson #

    Love this blog post Lori…I wish we could scream this info from the rooftops for all to hear!

    October 23, 2012

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